Norwich City vs Sunderland injury news as seven ruled out and one doubt

Sunderland are back in action on Sunday as they look to make up ground on the top six.

The Black Cats have slipped down the Championship table over recent weeks following a poor run of form. A 5-1 home defeat to Stoke City last time out made it three defeats on the bounce for Sunderland, who have fallen five points off the pace of the playoffs as a result. The good news is that there is still plenty of time to make up those six points, and this weekend provides a big opportunity.

That’s because Tony Mowbray’s men head to Carrow Road to take on Norwich City, the team currently occupying sixth spot. A win would be a huge boost to Sunderland’s playoff hopes, though the Black Cats are also well aware that a defeat would be quite the opposite.

For the trip to the South East, Sunderland will be without Aji Alese, who has been ruled out for the rest of the season. Elsewhere, Dennis Cirkin remains out with concussion, while Elliot Embleton, Ross Stewart and Corry Evans and are long-term absentees.

Mowbray has also pointed to a further doubt, but he would not confirm the name of the player in doubt. The Sunderland boss said: “Without giving too much away, in training today there was a player who came off, a pretty important player for us, who came off with a muscle injury.

“It is frustrating because we want to try and be competitive and as the season is coming towards the crux, we have fallen away over the last few weeks, but if you can put back-to-back wins together you are right in the mix.”

As for Norwich, Josh Sargent looks set for a return, while Jonny Rowe and Sam Byram are still working towards a return, and Gabriel Sara has returned from illness.

“He (Sargent) is fully in contention, he’s trained for the last couple of sessions with the team,” Norwich boss David Wagner has said. “They were pictures from early in the week. Gabby was ill and didn’t train Monday or Tuesday but has been in since then. Jonny Rowe is also in training, he will take a little bit longer. So will Sam (Byram), I see him every day, he’s working hard but I don’t want to put a timeframe on it.”